Condo Board Members seek to understand condo insurance and hope to descrease insurance premiums.
it was a great turnout for the CCI South Luncheon “Insurance Regulations / Preventative Maintenance” for Alberta Condominiums. At the forefront of every board member’s mind in Alberta is insurance, insurance, insurance. As one of the biggest costs in a condominium corporation, learning about the basic regulations as well as how to reduce premiums were the hot topics of the day.
Fort Sands was the Luncheon Sponsor for todays event. We are proud to be a Silver Sponsor of CCI South, as well as a Gold Sponsor of the Alberta Condominium and Real Estate Conference.
The moderator was Maria Bartolotti from New Concept Management Inc. The two knowledgeable insurance experts on hand answered many questions from the crowd:
- Sherry Bignell, BFL Canada, VP Team Leader – Real Estate Division
- Jason Stallard, HUB, National Realty Practice
Fort Sands is a big believer in Proactive Property Maintenance. We hope you’ll find these useful:
- Download a copy of our “11 Property Deficiencies Board Members Can Easily Spot by Walking Around.” eBook and Checklist:
info.fortsands.com/walkaround - Protect your building from Woodpeckers: info.fortsands.com/woodpecker
Insurance should not be used by condo corporations as a maintenance policy.
Some of the questions included:
- What is deductible insurance?
- How do leaking batteries in parkades impact insurance rates?
- How important is it to maintain sewer lines connecting to city lines?
- Should Hardee siding and similar protection methods be used to help reduce future insurability?
- … and … what things can I do to reduce premiums?
What can I do to reduce Insurance Premiums for my Condominium?
Insurance premiums can vary widely from one condominium community to the next. Building materials, type of building, number of claims, in a flood plane or not, type of pipes and electrical can all factor in.
Insurance Companies look at the trailing 5 years of insurance claims to help determine premiums.
To reduce premiums, the panel suggests reducing the number of claims over that five-year period.
Panelists as well as the audience had several suggestions to accomplish this:
- Preventative Maintenance
- Scheduled and comprehensive annual inspections
- Owner education
- Owner compliance for in suite risk reduction:
- Fire extinguishers on all levels
- 3 foot clearance around electrical panel
- Dryer vent and furnace inspections
- Even simple things like metal headed hoses for washers